Who is liable when a robot in your shop causes harm.

Short answer: From 9 December 2026, a new EU law, the Product Liability Directive (EU) 2024/2853, decides who pays when a faulty product injures someone. It covers software and AI, not just hardware. For a robot in your shop, the maker is liable first. But anyone who substantially changes the robot outside the maker's control can become liable as if they were the maker. That is why it matters who changes, updates and moves the robot in your shop.

This is a plain-language overview, not legal advice.

What changes on 9 December 2026

The directive replaces rules from 1985. It applies to products placed on the market or put into service after 9 December 2026 (Directive (EU) 2024/2853, Article 2). The main changes for robots:

• Software counts as a product. That includes the AI that controls a robot and the updates it receives.
• Updates count. A software update, or a robot that keeps learning, can create a new defect, and the maker stays responsible for it.
• Changing a robot can make you the maker. A person who substantially modifies a product outside the maker's control is treated as its manufacturer (Article 8(2)).
• Liability cannot be signed away. A contract cannot exclude or limit liability towards the injured person.
• Proving a defect gets easier. Courts can order evidence to be disclosed and, for technically complex products, presume a defect in some cases.

EU countries had to turn the directive into national law by 9 December 2026. Poland, Denmark and Sweden still had draft bills in mid-2026, so expect some uncertainty through 2027.

What counts as a "substantial modification"

The directive defines it in Article 4(18): a change after the product was placed on the market that changes its original performance, purpose or type, and changes the kind of hazard or the level of risk.

In a shop, examples that could qualify:

• fitting new arms, grippers or sensors that the maker did not plan for,
• installing different control software, or retraining the robot's AI to do a new kind of job,
• turning a robot built for back-room work into one that works among customers.

Everyday work usually does not: setting the route, choosing the aisles, scheduling the shift, or a repair with original parts.

Who is liable, in plain words

The directive covers death, personal injury (including recognised psychological harm), damage to private property, and loss of data not used for business. It does not cover damage to property used only for business, such as your shelves or stock. That stays a matter for your contract and insurance.

Liability is not the same as the safety paperwork

Two EU rules work side by side:

• The Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, from 20 January 2027, decides what must be checked and signed before a robot starts working.
• The Product Liability Directive decides who pays after someone is harmed.

A signed safety assessment does not remove liability, but a clear record of what was installed, changed and checked is exactly the evidence that matters if something goes wrong.

What this means when you rent a humanoid

A robot that you can swap, move or update is a robot that changes. Every change is a moment where responsibility can shift. On an ovibot contract:

• we check and sign the safety paperwork for the whole contract term, including after a swap or a move,
• we keep the record of every installation, update and swap,
• service and insurance are in the monthly fee,
• you do not modify the robot yourself; if a change is needed, we make it and sign for it.

Questions to ask any robot supplier

1. Who is named as manufacturer for the installation in my shop?
2. Who makes software updates, and who checks them before they reach my robot?
3. What insurance covers injury to customers and staff, and whose name is on it?
4. Who keeps the records of installation, updates and repairs, and can I get them?
5. What happens to liability if the robot is swapped or moved to another shop?

Frequently asked questions

When does the new EU Product Liability Directive apply? To products placed on the market or put into service after 9 December 2026. Older products stay under the previous rules unless they are substantially modified later.

Is software covered by the Product Liability Directive? Yes. Software, including AI systems and updates, counts as a product.

Who is liable if a robot injures a customer in my shop? Usually the maker, or whoever substantially changed the robot outside the maker's control. A contract cannot exclude liability towards the injured person.

Does the directive cover damage to my shop's stock or shelves? No. Property used only for business is excluded. Your contract and insurance cover that.

Questions about safety and liability for a robot in your shop? Talk to us.

Sources: Directive (EU) 2024/2853 (EUR-Lex), Articles 2, 4(18), 6 and 8(2); Gibson Dunn, "EU Product Liability Directive: Responding to Software, AI and Complex Supply Chains"; Regulation (EU) 2023/1230.